REGRETS? Kyle Lafferty insists he has more than a few from his controversial four-year stint at Rangers.

The Northern Ireland striker freely admits he did far too much off the park but also concedes he under-performed on it during his time in Glasgow.

As the man who scored title-winning goals for three seasons under Walter Smith, Lafferty was far from a failure at Ibrox.

But the 27-year-old knows he will always be remembered for a string of high-profile incidents, none of which portrayed him in a flattering light.

Among his misdemeanours was the cringeworthy episode when he feigned injury, pretending Charlie Mulgrew had butted him to get the defender red carded during a clash with Aberdeen.

A similar over-reaction led to Celtic skipper Scott Brown getting his marching orders during a fiery Old Firm clash at Ibrox while the Ulsterman sparked fury in the aftermath of another 3-1 derby victory when he tweeted then Hoops boss Neil Lennon, gloating: “Lennon, Lennon What’s the Score? Haha.”

Parking his Bentley in a disabled space during a trip to Asda did the striker little favours while a bitter bust-up with manager Ally McCoist led to a suspension and ultimately ended his Rangers career.

Controversy has continued to dog Lafferty since leaving Ibrox, with Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini accusing him of being “an out-of-control womaniser” after selling him to Norwich last summer.

The Canaries star, currently on loan at Turkish outfit Caykur Rizespor, appeared keen to kill off his pantomime villain character, admitting he would love to turn back the clock.

Asked how he had changed since leaving Rangers four years ago, Lafferty said: “I’ve matured definitely.

“I realised if you want to mess around you need to follow it up with football.

“When I was at Rangers I didn’t do that enough. I’ve matured. Now I let my football do the talking and I’m enjoying it much better.

“Moving to a club like Rangers – and I was only 20 at the time – was hard, especially coming from a wee village in Northern Ireland.

“Maybe it hit me. I’d be the first to agree I did daft things at Rangers on and off the pitch.

“But it’s all about learning from it and I’ve learned my lessons. I’m here to play now.

“On Wednesday night we’ll see how I’m remembered when there are about 50,000 people booing me!

“But 100 per cent I regret the daft things I did.

“I didn’t let my football do the talking enough. To play for a team like Rangers, to be known as the crazy guy on or off the pitch wasn’t what I wanted and who I wanted to be.”

Of course there were also plenty of highs with Lafferty helping himself to three Premier League titles, two League Cups and one Scottish Cup triumph during the stint with his boyhood heroes.

His goal helped clinch the title at Tannadice in 2009 and he followed it up a year later with another landmark strike at Easter Road before bagging a hat-trick against Kilmarnock on the final day of the season to secure three-in-a-row.

Yet Lafferty is well aware why those impressive exploits have not received the recognition they arguably deserve. He said: “In some ways the other stuff overshadowed all the good things I did for Rangers. I did score a few important goals but I’m probably most remembered as the guy who was given a chance and didn’t take it.

“To score title-winning goals was a dream come true.

“But it’s the things I did off the pitch, and the stupid things on it, that maybe took a bit of shine off all that.”

Lafferty is relishing the chance to renew old acquaintances at Hampden and is hoping for a similar outcome to his last appearance there with Rangers in March 2011.

A Gers team featuring Scotland stars Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker beat a Celtic side skippered by Scott Brown 2-1 after extra time in a thrilling League Cup Final.

He said: “It is going to be good to be back there. I have a lot of memories from playing there.

“The last time Rangers played there was that League Cup Final win. We won a few games there against Celtic!

“I had four years of people booing me at Rangers so I’m sure I’ll be fine on Wednesday.

“It will be good to see Scott Brown again – we had a few tussles on the pitch.

“There will be a few players I played with and against that I’m looking forward to seeing.”

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Since leaving Rangers under a cloud Lafferty has enjoyed spells with Sion in Switzerland, Palermo in Italy and is currently in Turkey after failing to nail down a regular spot in the Norwich line-up.

While his current Black Sea base couldn’t be any more removed from Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night, it is the ideal place to keep the lanky Irishman on the straight and narrow.

He added: “Turkey is going well. I went there to play football as I wasn’t getting much game time at Norwich.

“Turkey is different to anywhere I have been before. The lifestyle is different.

“Where I’m living it’s so quiet – I’m only training then heading back to the apartment.

“There is not much to do so I can’t get myself into trouble.”

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Which England rugby player was the top points scorer at the 2015 RBS 6 Nations with a haul of 75?